Eye Of The Storm
by JA Baker
Summary: After the Stargate malfunctions, SG1 find themselves with a visitor from 5000-years in the future. And when he is kidnapped by NID, the SGC finds itself coming to the attention of an organisation as powerful as the Asgard…
1. Discovery

Many thanks to my friend Paul Spencer, a rabid SG:1 fan, who Bate-read this for me and got rid of all my spelling mistakes.  
  
PS: I've deleted all my old notes to trim the story down a bit  
  
Eye of the storm, part 1  
  
"No offence meant Dylan, but you said this place was a old High Guard supply base, and all we've found is THIS!" exclaimed Harper, pointing at the mysterious metal ring that how filled one of Andromeda's cargo bays. Dylan shook his head, "What can I say: The place WAS a supply base; at least, that's what they told us. How was I to know that it was also a research base?"  
  
Rommie was examining the object, "Dylan, there seems to be some sort of data-port built into this thing. I think I can connect to it, maybe learn what it is." Dylan looked worried, "Is that a good idea? We don't know what it could do to you: Remember what happened with HG!" Rommie smiled, "Relax Dylan, I'm only talking about having a look, not letting it take control of me. What's the worse that can happen?"  
  
Dylan still looked uneasy, but nodded, "Ok, but be careful in there: I don't want you catching some virus off of it!" Rommie smiled at his concern, and placing her hand on the Data port, closed her eyes.  
  
When she opened them again, she found herself standing in a huge light- filled room. "Wow!" it wasn't much of a response for someone with vocabulary like hers, but it was all she was capable of at the time. She shook herself, remembering her task. She shifted through a sea of data, and found what she was looking for, and exited.  
  
Dylan was standing before her, a worried look on his face, "Rommie?" She smiled, "Yes, its still me. I found out what it is: it's some sort of transport device. It seems to use slipstream to transport mater between devices such as this." Harper was impressed, "You mean that we could use this to go to places without a ship? No offence." Rommie's eyes narrowed, "None taken." Dylan shrugged, "So what do we do with it?" Harper was about to say something when the inner ring started to rotate, shaking the entire room.  
  
Rommie lost her footing and fell. Dylan managed to grab her before she hit the floor, and blushed when he realised where his hands where resting. He quickly moved them to her shoulders as he looked at the device: several triangular peaces of metal had stated to glow and with a whoosh, a fountain of what looked like blue water shot forth from the ring, then suddenly receded, leaving a pool of water shimmering behind.  
  
Dylan and Rommie drew their force-lances as four figures walked from the pool of water, weapons in their hands. They looked human, but after all that had happened to them, Dylan decided not to take any risks, "Put the guns down, NOW!" The leader of the newcomers looked at him, not understanding. He raised his hands slightly, seemingly in submission, and said something in a language Dylan didn't understand: "Err, we come in peace?"  
  
TBC 


	2. Language barrier

Eye of the storm, part 2  
  
"A likely story!" scoffed Harper. Dylan looked at him, "You can understand what they're saying?" Harper looked confused, "Don't tell me you never learnt English? You speak Than and Perseid, but not English?" Dylan shrugged, "Never had to learn. Not that many people still use it." Harper smiled smugly, "HA!"  
  
The first stranger looked at them, confused, "Um, can any of you understand me?" Harper and Rommie looked at him, "Yes!" they replied in English. The stranger seemed to relax, "Look, we come in peace. We're from a planet called Earth." Harper smiled, still looking down the sights of his gauss- gun, "I'm from Earth, and most people there speak common. So who are you, and where are you really from?"  
  
The stranger still seamed confused, "My names Colonel Jack O'Neill, United States Air Force." Rommie looked at him, her eyes hard, and "The United States has not existed for almost 5,000-years". You might have picked a better cover story." O'Neill's face fell, "How long did you say?" Harper looked at him, "What are you, deaf? She said 5,000-years. The United States dissolved after Earth joined the Commonwealth."  
  
A blond woman stepped past O'Neill, "What year is this?" Harper smiled, noticing her for the first time, "C.Y. 10,088." She seamed confused, "In the Earth calendar?" Harper did the maths, "Some point in the late 70th century I hazed a guess." O'Neill trough his cap to the floor, "Damn it Carter! I thought you fixed it so this wouldn't happen again?" Carter shrugged, "I thought I had. There must have been some sunspot activity. I don't know how this could have happened."  
  
A second man stepped forward, "Hi, look, sometimes the Stargate, this device we use to travel between worlds, well, it's affected by sunspots, and has, in the past, sent us through time. Never this far I admit, but it has happened. And why is that woman looking at him so strangely?" He asked, noticing the look on Rommie's face. Rommie blinked, shaking her head, "I'm sorry, you look just like someone I once knew." The man smiled, "Maybe he was a descendant of mine?" Rommie shook her head, "He was an AI, and android."  
  
Carter was amazed, "You have Artificially Intelligent androids?" Rommie looked at her, "Yes: I'm an AI." O'Neill was taken aback, "Wow! Never would have guessed!" The forth stranger nodded, "It is indeed an impressive simulation of a normal human." Rommie shot him a hard glance, "I'm a sentient being, and I'll have you remember that, especially while you're on this ship!"  
  
Dylan was stood staring at the apparent conversation going on before him, "Will someone please tell me what's going on here? I am the captain and all!" Andromeda's holographic form appeared next to him, "They claim to be explorers from some point in Earth's history. The leader calls himself Colonel Jack O'Neill, and the blond woman seems to be named Carter. As for the one who looks like Gabriel and the tall one with the golden tattoo on his forehead, they haven't said."  
  
O'Neil looked from Rommie to Andromeda and back, "What's going on here?" Andromeda looked at him, "I am Andromeda, the ships controlling AI." she held out an arm towards Rommie, "This is my Avatar, Rommie. The man next to me is Captain Dylan Hunt, my commanding officer, and the short man beside you is Seamus Harper, my engineer." O'Neill nodded, "Well, as I said; I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, USAF. This is Major Samantha Carter, our physicist, Dr Daniel Jackson, our archaeologist, and the tall one at the back is Teal'c. We're from the Earth year 2001." Andromeda translated the new information for Dylan. Harper smiled, his gun still pointed at the newcomers, "Well, I'd say you're a bit lost."  
  
TBC 


	3. Q & A

Eye of the storm, part 3  
  
The cargo bay door opened, and Tyr walked in, Gauss-rifle at the ready. He looked at the newcomers, and then at Dylan, "Why do I feel I'm about to regret signing on with this ship?" Dylan walked up to him, leaving the others to talk, "This, this 'thing' we found down at the supply base is some sort of transport device." He waved a hand at SG1, "They're explores who use it to travel to different planets. You won't believe this next bit, I don't believe it yet: they claim to be from the Earth year 2001. That's over 50-years before the Perseids made first contact."  
  
Tyr raised his gun and pointed it at Teal'c, "That one is Jaffa!" Dylan looked round, "I'm not familiar with that species." Tyr shook his head, "You wouldn't be, I myself have only read about them in books: they all but died out 5000-years ago when the Commonwealth helped the Asgard defeat the Goa'uld System Lords at the second battle of San-Ska-Re." Dylan thought for a second, trying to remember what he knew about that battle, "That was just before first-contact!"  
  
Rommie, of course, overheard what Tyr had said and looked at SG1, "You're from the SGC?" O'Neill nodded, "We were, but from the tone in your voice, I take it that the SGC is no-more?" Rommie nodded, finally lowering her forcelance, "It was disbanded after the Asgard Migration. I thought that they took all the remaining Stargate's with them when they left." Carter's face fell, "You mean where stuck here, we can't get back to Earth?"  
  
Harper laughed, "Believe me, you'd not want to go to Earth as it is now." Daniel looked worried, "What happened to Earth?" Harper pointed at Tyr, "Nietzscheans, his people, control the place now, and they don't much like us regular humans." O'Neil raised an eyebrow, "He's not human?" Harper shook his head, "He's Nietzschean: genetically-engineered humans, designed to be the ultimate survivors. They have a superiority complex the size of a Galaxy, but they have the strength, skill and speed to back it up. Don't agitate him: He'd shoot you if he sees you as a threat to his personal survival. It's a Nietzschean thing."  
  
Dylan walked back over to the others and turned to Harper, "I want you to find a way to hook-up this, what did he call it, 'Stargate', to Andromeda's neural-net, see if she can figure out a way to send our guests here home." He turned to Rommie, "If you could escort them to the guest quarters on C- deck, and keep an eye on them, I'd appreciate it." Rommie smiled sweetly as she nodded, "Of course." She turned to SG1, "If you would please follow me, I'll show you to some quarters where you can rest while we try to find a way to send you back to your own time." O'Neill nodded, "Ok, I think we could all do with a rest right now."  
  
As Rommie lead them along the corridors, Carter started asking questions, "So, you're an AI: what sort of capabilities do you have?" Rommie kept her eyes straight ahead, "My capabilities are classified military secrets." Carter held her arms up, "I'm not asking for a complete breakdown of your command systems, I'm just curios to see if you're any different from the AI's we've met in the past." Rommie nodded, "Very well, that information is not classified: I am a GRA 112 model Artificial Intelligence, and I am the controlling entity of the Systems Commonwealth Glorious Heritage class Heavy Cruiser Andromeda Ascendant." O'Neill was getting board with all the techno babble, "Heavy Cruiser, sounds impressive!" he said mockingly.  
  
A bolt of electricity shot from one of the internal defence turrets and hit him on the shoulder. "Awe! " What was that for?" Rommie smiled, "I am a sentient being with my own feelings and emotions: I don't like people mocking me." Carter looked over her shoulder, "Sir, as we could possibly end up spending the rest of our lives in this time, you might want to make friends instead of enemies. Especially when the people you meet are self- aware warships."  
  
TBC 


	4. Trust

Eye of the storm, part 4  
  
Rommie left SG1 in a suit of rooms reserved for VIP visitors, but locked the door after she left. O'Neill turned to his team, "Ok, question 1: do we trust these people to be telling the truth?" Teal'c nodded, "It would not be the first time that our enemies have attempted to trick us into believing that many years have past, and that the SGC is no more." Carter nodded, "I agree, but they seem to be friendly. I mean that electric shock that hit you: it could have been a lot worse." Daniel turned to Teal'c, "Have you ever heard of this Commonwealth they claim to be from?"  
  
The former Jaffa thought for a moment, "The only time I have ever know that term to be used is when referring to the Systems Commonwealth, a powerful star empire originating in the Andromeda Galaxy. The System Lords have had several clashes with them in the past, and have never won against them." O'Neill shook his head, "That doesn't answer my question: can we trust them?"  
  
"Can we trust them?" asked Dylan, looking at the others. Trance shrugged, "They seam nice." Tyr shot her a look, "You say that about everyone we meet. All we know is that one of them is Jaffa, and they where deadly warriors who fought for a cruel empire." Beka turned to Rommie, "Anything in your database about this 'Stargate Command' they claim to belong to?"  
  
Rommie nodded, "There are several references to an organisation called the SGC in early Commonwealth Earth history. Hold on a second: I've found a video file." The main view screen changed from a view of space to an old newsreel: "And now, with the Goa'uld threat ended, and Earth's entry into the Systems Commonwealth, the government has ordered the ending of the controversial Stargate project based out of the Cheyenne mountain complex in Colorado." The newsreel ended.  
  
Dylan shrugged, "So, we knew that the SGC existed, but we still can't prove whether our guests are who they claim to be." Harper walked through the door, "Ok, I've patched Rommie into the Stargate: she should be able to read any data stored in it." Rommie closed her eyes and accessed the Stargate's memory banks. Again she found herself in a light-filled room, surrounded by data flows and command programs. It took her a while to translate it to a format she could understand, and when she opened her eyes again, Dylan looked even more concerned then ever, "Well?"  
  
Rommie smiled, "They are who they claim to be, that much is true: I found a remnant of the computer program they used to control the gate on Earth in the memory banks of the one in my cargo bay." Trance tilted her head to the side, "Is there anyway to send them back?" Rommie nodded, "I think I can, but they could end up at a different time then the one they are aiming for. It will be up to them to decide if they want to try." Dylan nodded, "Well, I suggest you and Harper go talk to them and offer them the choice: risk going back or staying here."  
  
TBC 


	5. Road Trip

Eye of the storm, part 5  
  
Rommie and Harper walked back to the room where SG1 were waiting. O'Neill stood as soon as the door opened, "Do you mind answering a few questions?" Rommie nodded, "As long as what you want to know is not classified, yes." O'Neill smiled, "Good. Ok, one question: What proof do you have that we are really 5,000-years into our future?" Rommie looked at him, "You want proof? I think we can arrange that."  
  
Harper led SG1 to the docking bay. O'Neill stopped when he saw the Maru for the first time, "What a peace of junk!" Harper smiled, "You're luck Beka can't speak English: She'd kill you for a comment like that!" The airlock opened, "Beka may not be able to speak English, but thanks to a little trick Rommie pulled with our sub-dermal communicators, she can understand it." Harper stopped short, "Colonel O'Neill, meet Beka Valentine, Andromeda's first officer and owner of the Eureka Maru." O'Neill went to say something, but Harper stopped him, "She may not be able to speak English, but she can understand it perfectly."  
  
Beka gave SG1 a deadly look as she walked past them. O'Neill winced, "Is she coming with us on this trip?" Harper shook his head, "No, it's just the three of you, Rommie, Dylan and Tyr." He turned to face them, "Look, take it from someone who knows: Earth is not a very pleasant place nowadays. If any Nietzscheans look at you, bow your heads. If they ask you anything, just bow your heads and look at Tyr." Carter raised an eyebrow, "Why do they need to do that?"  
  
Rommie walked up to them with some spear clothes, "Because the only way we're going to go un-noticed is if the local garrison thinks we're just a cargo ship crew. Unfortunately, that means pretending to be slaves." O'Neill raised a hand in objection, "Wow there! Slaves?" Harper nodded his face downcast, "Earth's a slave world". We try walking around without a Nietzschean to back us up, we could end up in all sorts of trouble." O'Neill turned to Carter, "Maybe its best that your staying behind after all." Carter nodded, "And I need to help get the Stargate working if we're ever going to get back to our own time."  
  
Trance and Rev Bem walked off the Maru and past SG1 with a nod and a smile. Daniel watched them leave, "Who, and what, where they?" Harper smiled, "The fury one is Rev Bem, our science officer. He's a Magog. Not a very nice species in general, but he found religion. Believe me, you meet any Magog who haven't, you'll know about it. And the purple one is Trance Gemini, our doctor. We have no idea what species she is, and as she won't tell us, I doubt we ever will." T'elc looked confused, "You allow a member of a species you know nothing about join your crew?" Harper looked up at the Jaffa, "Hay, Trance has saved our lives enough times for us to trust her without question. She may be a little strange, and some of the things she can do defy the laws of physics, but you can trust her 100%."  
  
Dylan popped his head around the airlock, "Let's get going." Rommie lead O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c into the Maru as Dylan strapped himself into the pilots seat. The cargo ship gently lifted up off the deck and made its way out of the cargo bay. As soon as they where clear, Dylan swung the ship round, giving O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c their first look at the Andromeda from the outside. O'Neill's jaw dropped, "Impressive!" Rommie smiled, "Thank you. Now, you may wish to hold onto something. It's only a short hop to Earth, but I can be a bit bumpy: Harpers still trying to fix the artificial gravity field." The three visitors took a firm grip of the supports as Dylan lined the Maru up to the slip-portal. O'Neill looked at Rommie, "What's this called again?" Rommie smiled, "Slipstream." With a shudder, the Maru transited to slipstream, almost frowning O'Neill to the deck.  
  
TBC 


	6. “Ain’t life a bitch!”

Eye of the storm, part 6  
  
Carter was helping Harper connect the Stargate to Andromeda's power grid, "So why dose Rommie act so strange around Daniel?" Harper sat against the Stargate; "About 6-mounths ago we rescued an android called Gabriel, looked just like your pall Daniel, from a destroyed Starship, and Him and Rommie, they fell for each other from the word go. Then we come across another old Commonwealth Starship, a real nasty peace of work called The Balance of Judgment. Now the Balance had gone mad, and was attacking innocent ships in an attempt to stop people spreading out across the stars: he said they where spreading filth and disease. Real whack-job!"  
  
Harper stood and started to pace the area in front of the gate, "It turned out that Gabriel was the Balance's Avatar, like Rommie is Andromeda's, and he had been sent here to disable her so the Balance could move in for the kill." Carter was shocked, "Rommie must have been crushed!" Harper nodded, "She was, big time. Anyway: Andromeda was crippled, the main AI was off- line, and Dylan gave to order to abandon-ship on the Maru. Gabriel was, to his credit, appalled by the things the Balance had made him do over the years, and decided to stay and die. Rommie had been compromised by a computer virus, so she decided to stay and die with him rather than put the rest of us in any more danger."  
  
He sat back down, "The Balance of Judgment was so intent in destroying Andromeda that he didn't pay us any attention as Beka slowly piloted the Maru his way. Dylan had filled the cargo-pod with a load of missile warheads, and we dropped them in the Balances path, and physics did the rest." Carter's eyes went wide, "He was destroyed?" Harper nodded, "Big bang, real fireworks. Anyway, Gabriel was free to do what he wanted, and he asked Rommie to go away with him, and she said yes. They where just about to leave when Rommie found that the, just before it exploded, the Balance had sent a load of encrypted data to Gabriel. She confronted him, and he admitted that it was a copy of the Balances core-personality, and that in time, he would become the Balance of Judgment, and would re-build his ship- self." Harpers looked at the deck, "Rommie was forced to shoot Gabriel rather than have him turn into the Balance of Judgment."  
  
Carter was astonished, "She must have been heart broken!" Harper shock his head, "Try suicidal: I've never seen anyone so upset. She asked Dylan to wipe her personality, but he refused, saying that he'd never let her end up like the Balance." Harper picked up his nano-welder and went back to work, "The problem is this: Rommie's feelings for Gabriel where based on her feelings for someone else, someone unattainable." Carter looked up, "Who?" Harper sighed, "Dylan. And I mean she is totally head-over-heals in love with they guy, always has been, right from the start. But, Dylan lost his fiancée when he was trapped by the singularity, and was to upset to notice." He put his nano-welder down, "The High Guard had rules that said that Avatars can't get romantically involved with crew members. Believe me: I've seen what can happen if they do and it goes bad. Rommie still loves him from afar. I'd like to think he knows, but doesn't knew how to deal with it."  
  
Carter nodded, "I know how she feels." Harper looked at her, "Really?" Carter nodded, "Colonel O'Neill and I have, well, feelings for each other, but because he's my superior officer, we can't get involved." Harper shock his head, "Ain't life a bitch! This is why I'd never join the military! Life's to short to let things like that get in the way of love." He looked round, "Andromeda, engage privacy mode." The AI's voice came from a speaker in the wall, "Privacy mode engaged." Harper lean closer to Carter, "If this doesn't work, Dylan's willing to offer the four of you a home on Andromeda. All we'd have to say is we can't get this thing to work." Carter thought on it for a moment, then shook her head, "As much as I want to be with Jack, I can't do something like that to the others: they all have lives to get back to, and I have to do my best to help them." Harper shrugged, "We'll see how it goes then."  
  
TBC 


	7. Earth

Eye of the storm, part 7  
  
With a lurch, the Maru transited from slipstream to normal space. O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel looked out of the view port and nodded, "Yep, that's Earth all right." Comment O'Neill with a sigh. Rommie handed the three of them earpieces, "I've managed to convert these receivers to translate Common to English, so you will be able to understand us. I've done the same with Dylan and Tyr's communicators, so we can all understand each other, no matter what language we use." Daniel looked at his, "Cool!" he exclaimed as he pressed it into his ear.  
  
Dylan unbuckled the pilot's harness and turned to SG1, "Can you understand me now?" O'Neill nodded, "Yep, can you?" Dylan smiled, "I've been able to understand you since we left Andromeda. Next time you want to make comments about my flying, do it when I'm out of earshot." Tyr took Dylan's place at the controllers, "Where are we headed for?" O'Neill rubbed his chin, "Colorado Springs. It's the nearest town to the SGC." Tyr nodded, and started to take the Maru down.  
  
SG1 started to get their guns ready, but Dylan stopped them, "No weapons: The last thing a Nietzschean would do is allow his slaves to carry guns." O'Neill nodded, "Ok, we'll leave our guns behind, but we'll take our Zat's with us: they only stun." Dylan nodded, hiding his forcelance under his shirt, "Very well, but only use them if we're fired at first: I have enough people after my blood as it is." Rommie returned from the crew-quarters, having changed into civilian gear, "We should land outside of town and proceeded on-foot. Beka would be very upset if anyone stole the Maru while we where borrowing it."  
  
Tyr walled past the others, grabbing his Gauss-rifle from the weapons locker, "I suggest we start at the local shipping office, try to reinforce the 'cargo-ship' story a little before we proceed." O'Neill raised a hand, "Why can he take a gun, and we can't?" Tyr looked at him, "Because I can be trusted with one, you can't." with that, he walked off. O'Neill looked at Dylan, "He's got a real problem with authority, hasn't he." Dylan shook his head, "No, Tyr respects authority, it's just I'm the captain, and you're a passenger."  
  
O'Neill was taken aback, "Hay: I'm a Colonel, Captain!" Dylan looked him in the eye, "A Colonel of what? Your country dissolved 5000-years ago. True, the High Guard may no longer exist, but at lest I've still got my ship!" O'Neill looked round at the inside of the Maru, "Some ship!" Dylan looked ready to punch O'Neill, but Rommie effortlessly picked the two of them up off the deck by their shirt collars, "If the two of you don't start acting like the officers you claim to be, I will knock you both out and assume command myself!" Dylan looked like he was about to say something, but in the end, just nodded. O'Neill swung gently for a few minuets before nodding, "Ok, I'll behave!" Rommie lowered them back to the deck.  
  
Teal'c looked at Rommie with what could only be called respect, "You certainly are more formidable than you look." Rommie smiled, "I could brake you neck with two fingers if I needed to. I know over 500-forms of martial- arts. I can field strip and fire almost any know weapon. I speak thousands of languages and regional dialects." Dylan patted her on the back, "And she makes a good cup of coffee too. Let's go."  
  
TBC 


	8. Proof and surprises

Eye of the storm, part 8  
  
Tyr led the way through the forest until they arrived at the edge of Colorado Springs. The SG1 members looked around, trying to find a building or landmark that they recognised. O'Neill shook his head, "Nothings the same." Daniel looked at him, "Well, it has been 5000-years." Dylan looked around, "Tyr, you better go check-in with the local shipping office, get the cover story set up. We'll stay here." The Nietzschean nodded and walked off.  
  
The two crew sat patiently for an hour before Tyr returned, "Ok, I've registered us under assumed names, and said I'd be back later to have a look at what cargo's need shipping, so if we get stopped with have an alibi." Dylan nodded, turning to O'Neill, "So where do you want to go?" O'Neill looked round, "Well, Cheyenne Mountain makes sense. There should be something there." Dylan nodded, "Then led on McDuff, lead on."  
  
The trek from the Maru to the SGC complex took the rest of the mourning, but they finally found an old ventilation shaft that looked intact. O'Neill typed his access command into the lock, and they where all surprised when the hatch popped-open. Activating the flashlight, Dylan pointed his forcelance down the shaft, "Look's safe from here." He went to climb in, but Rommie stopped him, "It would be better if I went first, sir." Dylan looked like he was going to object, but just nodded. Rommie climbed into the top of the shaft, and taking a firm grip of the ladder, slid down ten floors to the bottom.  
  
Reaching the floor, Rommie drew her own forcelance and looked around, "No sign of anyone. I'll try the lights." She flipped a switch on the wall. Several bulbs exploded in showers of sparks, but the majority of the lights came on, "Look's deserted." The others made them way down the ladder. O'Neill looked at some writing on one of the walls, "Ok, the gate room is 18-flours down. There should be an elevator along here somewhere." He led the others off along a corridor.  
  
They finally found the gate room, and where not surprised to find it deserted, a thick layer of dust covering very surface. Daniel found a poster on the wall by the door, "Hay, guys, according to this, this place is, well, was, a museum." He read on, "But it was closed about 300-years ago." Dylan nodded, "Right after The Fall." Teal'c brushed the dust off of a display cabinet, "Colonel O'Neil, Captain Hunt, you may find this interesting." The six of them gathered around the glass-covered case: Inside was a photo of SG1 standing before the Stargate.  
  
O'Neill's eyes went wide: in the photo, he had his arms round Carter, and a wedding ring could clearly be seen on her finger, "Wow!" Daniel nodded, "You can say that again! Dose it say when it was taken?" Rommie gripped the lid of the cabinet and effortlessly ripped it up, snapping the lock. Tyr looked at her, "I could have picked the lock in about 5-secionds you know." Rommie just shrugged. Teal'c picked up the photo and turned it over, "According to what is written here, this photo was taken at some point in the year 2004." O'Neill looked at it, "Ok, I'm convinced: this really is the year 7000 or what ever."  
  
The unmistakable sound of a Gauss-gun powering up came from behind them, followed by a voice, "Just what do you think your doing here?" They turned round to see a Nietzschean in the doorway, a scowl on his face. Tyr took a small stem forward, "We we're just looking around." He said in a menacing tone, looking down at the smaller man, "Why dose it concern you?" The smaller man swallowed, trying to hide his fear, "I own this complex." He looked like he was about to say something else, but Daniel had managed to use Tyr bulk to hide his arm as he drew his Zat and fire it, knocking the Nietzschean out-cold. Dylan ran over to the door and looked out down the corridor, "We better get out of here: they may be others."  
  
TBC 


	9. Respect

Eye of the storm, part 9  
  
The two crew's managed to get back to the ventilation shaft without running into anymore trouble, but no-sooner had they started to climb then Gauss- gun rounds started to hit the wall behind them. Tyr gripped the ladder with his legs, and bending over backwards, fired back along the corridor.  
  
O'Neill looked down at Dylan as they climbed, "How come he's aloud to kill people, and we're not?" Rommie grabbed him by the arm and lifted him out of the ventilation shaft, "Because it's his nature. Anyway, he's a better shot then you could ever be." Tyr appeared at the hatch, and after jumping out of the way, dropped a grenade down the shaft. A huge sheet of flame roared from the hatch as the Andromeda crew dived for cover.  
  
Daniel spat grass, "What was that?" Rommie helped him to his feet, "Plasma- charge. We better get back to the ship." Dylan drew his forcelance and extended it to its full length, "Let's go. Rommie take point, Tyr rear- guard. I'll keep an eye on our 'guests'." O'Neill looked at him, "I know that I'm a little behind the times, but I do know this area better than you do." Dylan looked at O'Neill, "That may be, but Rommie has better sensors then you, and can react faster than any human. She leads." Begrudgingly, O'Neill gave in.  
  
They where almost back to the Maru when a group of Nietzschean caught up with them. Try returned fire, hitting two of them before they found cover. Teal'c tried to use his Zat, but it only seemed to annoy their attackers. Tyr shook his head, and handed Teal'c his spare Gauss-pistol, "Stun settings are for people who can't commit." The two of them where able to keep the Nietzscheans at bay while Rommie, Dylan and O'Neill worked they way round behind them.  
  
Rommie used her forcelance as a volt, landing in the middle of the Nietzscheans. She moved with amazing speed, swinging her weapon round with deadly accuracy, easily knocking her opponents out. O'Neill was gob smacked, "That's just about the coolest thing I've ever seen!" He looked around the clearing, "Daniel, you can stop cowering now." The archaeologist popped his head up from behind a rock, "Sorry about that, got a little nervous. I never have gotten used to people shooting at me." Dylan looked round, "We better get moving before any more of our friends here find us."  
  
They managed to get back to the Maru without any trouble, and quickly took- off. Tyr stood at the weapons console, "I'm bringing the ECM generators on line, but we have two Banshee-class fighters heading our way at high speed. No-way we can out-run them." Dylan undid his safety harness, "Rommie, your up!" the Avatar grabbed the controls and, cutting the main drive, spun the Maru round so that they where facing the on-coming fighters. O'Neill looked nervous as the fighters got closer, but Rommie just smiled as she fired the ship-to-ship missiles that she had helped Harper install, destroying the fighters.  
  
She turned to SG1; "You really think we'd go on a mission like this in ship that couldn't defend itself?" O'Neill smiled, "Well, it doesn't look that powerful from the outside." Dylan strapped himself back into the pilots seat as soon as Rommie left it, "Believe me, we spent a lot of time out- fitting this ship with a few 'optional extras'. If people think it's just a cargo-ship, that's fine by us, but whoa betide anyone who try's to highjack the Eureka Maru. And if you think Rommie's a good pilot, you should see Beka." He punched a few commands into the navigational-computer, "Now hang on, this is a going to be bumpy!"  
  
The Maru transited to slipstream, and Daniel turned to Rommie, "Why don't you pilot the ship in slipstream. Surly an AI must have better reflexes than a human." Rommie shook her head, "AI's can't navigate the stream. No one knows why, but it is thought to be something to do with organic observers affecting probability outcomes. Flying the cords is more of an art form than a skill."  
  
Dylan brought the Maru out of slipstream near the Andromeda, and Rommie smiled as she regained contact with the main AI, "Harper and Major Cater have been able to get the Stargate working, and have achieved contact with the SGC at the correct point in time." She turned to O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel, "You're going home."  
  
TBC 


	10. The Accident

Eye of the storm, part 10  
  
SG1 walked back into the cargo bay, and O'Neill almost passed out when he saw the room's new occupants, "What the HELL are they!" he said, looking up at the two huge robots standing at the side of the gate. Dylan smiled, "Colonel O'Neill, meet Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee, our two Planetary- Warfare Bots. Boy's, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill. Play nice." The two robots looked at SG1, shrugged, and went back to guarding the gate.  
  
Dylan walked over to Harper, "Why'd you wake the twins up?" Harper smiled, "We where a bit worried about what might come through the Stargate, so we decided we might need a bit of extra firepower. Anyway, it's been a while since they had a chance to stretch their legs." Dylan smiled, patting the engineer on the back, "Good idea."  
  
With a rattle, the Stargate started to move, the chevron locking into place one by one. The lights dimmed as Andromeda fed the gate the extra power it needed to send the wormhole back in time 5000-years. Raw energy flickered over its surface as the final chevron clicked into place. Carter lifted her GDO and sent SG1's code through the gate. She smiled as she received the code that General Hammond had agreed to send to let them know they had dialled the right point in time.  
  
SG1 grabbed their gear and prepared to go home. O'Neil turned to Dylan, "Well Captain, it's been, well, different. Good luck." Dylan smiled; shaking the other mans hand, "Same to you Colonel. Keep your head down, and if you happen to see anything that looks kind of like light-blue centaur, be nice to it." O'Neill laughed, "I will." Carter turned to Harper, "Thanks for the help, and the advice." Harper smiled, "Hay, I'm an expert on unrequited love. Have fun." Teal'c shook Tyr's hand, "I feel hounded to have met a warrior of your abilities." Tyr smiled slightly, "As am I. Look after your friends, humans can be a bit fragile."  
  
SG1 had started to make their way through the Stargate when alarms started going off. Rommie looked at Dylan, "Nietzscheans! At lest two destroyers and over a dozen fighters. I think it's the same ones that we fought on Earth. Dylan, I can't arm my weapons while I'm powering the gate!" Dylan shoved Daniel through the gate, "Ok, cut power." He had hardly finished speaking when an explosion rocked the Andromeda, knocking him from his feet. He tried to grab Tyr's arm for support, but missed, and ended up falling through the event-horizon of the wormhole just moments before it collapsed.  
  
Daniel stumbled through the Stargate and back into the SGC. He had just regained his balance when Dylan slammed into his back, knocking him down. Several Special Forces guards drew their guns and pointed them at Dylan, but Carter jumped in-between them, "Don't, he's a friendly!" She rushed over to his side, "Janet, you better get over here!" Doctor Fraiser ran across the room, "He's got a concussion. We'd better get him to the infirmary." Two orderly where wheeling in a stretcher as General Hammond walked through the door into the gate-room, "Colonel, who is this man? Why did he travel back with you?"  
  
Daniel sighed, "His name is Dylan Hunt, he's the Captain of the Starship we ended up on. The ship was under attack as we started to come back. There was some sort of explosion just as I stepped through the event-horizon: he must have been thrown through the gate after us." O'Neill shook his head, "And the guy doesn't speak a word of English. What are we going to do with him?"  
  
TBC 


	11. Awakening

Eye of the storm, part 11  
  
Dylan's mind was foggy. He couldn't see properly, his eyes refusing to focuses, and the ringing in his ears cutting-off all other sounds. He tried to remember what had happened. His mind slowly began to work, bringing the memories back into place one-by-one: getting back to Andromeda, powering-up the Stargate, sending the wormhole back in time, saying good bye to SG1, the Nietzscheans, pushing Daniel through, the explosion.  
  
He decided he must be in medical. He looked around, his vision still to blurry to make out shapes, "Trance?" he called weakly, trying to find his ship's medic. Something moved over him, and a bright light shown down into his eyes. Garbled voices clambered for his attention, but the ringing stopped him from hearing them properly.  
  
Dr. Fraiser turned to one of her assistance, "You better call Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond: he's beginning to regain consciousness." The nurse nodded and walked over to a phone on the wall, "Colonel O'Neill and General Hammond to the infirmary please." It took less than a minuet for the two officers to walk through the door. General Hammond looked down at the bed, "So how is he?" Fraiser showed him Dylan's chart, "Well, he has a bad concussion and a few cuts and bruises, but apart from that he's in perfect health." She walked over to some x-rays on the wall, "There are signs of some old injuries, but they've heeled perfectly. There is this though." She commented, pointing to a dark spot at the side of Dylan's head, "It appears to be implanted just below his skin, but I can't tell what it is."  
  
O'Neill looked at the x-ray, "I did hear someone use the term 'sub-dermal communicator', it's the device they used to understand us. It's some kind of radio." Hammond turned to the doctor, "Is it Goa'uld in design?" Fraiser shook her head, "If it is, it's more advanced than anything I've ever seen them use on a regular human." Hammond turned to O'Neill, "You say that that device they gave you lets you understand what he's saying?" The Colonel nodded, "Yes, they said it was a version of the implant he's got." Hammond nodded, "They you better talk to him first. But be careful: he's not going to be happy when you tell him what happened."  
  
O'Neill walked over to the side of the bed, "Dylan, can you hear me? It's Jack, Jack O'Neill." Dylan blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus, "What, what happened?" O'Neill sighed, "There was an explosion. You where thrown through the gate. You're back on earth, at the SGC." Dylan's eyes flickered, "What year?" O'Neill winced, "2001."  
  
Dylan tried to sit up, "Have to get back to the ship." Dr. Fraiser pushed him back down onto the bed, "You're not going anywhere for the next few days. You need rest." Dylan's eyes focused on her, "You have to send me back!" O'Neill shook his head, "We don't know if we can." Dylan tried to get up again, and when O'Neill pushed him down, he became angry. Dr. Fraiser grabbed a needle from a tray and gave Dylan a sedative to calm him down. He slowly fell into a fitful sleep.  
  
SG1 sat around the table in the briefing room, along with Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond. O'Neill turned to Carter, "Can you re-create the system you used to bring us back?" His second in command shook her head, "Not with our currant level of technology, no: the Andromeda used a matter/anti-mater reactor to provide the gate with the energy used to send us back, and even if we did have the power, it took most of the processing power of a massive quantum computer to do the necessary calculations to send the wormhole back in time." Daniel shrugged, "Maybe the Tok'ra could help us? They have technology that's well in advance of our own." General Hammond shook his head, "We asked them, but they say that it's beyond even their means. They suggested asking the Asgard." O'Neill laughed, "Thor only beams me up when he wants something and he'd probably say that they can't interfere." Teal'c raised an eyebrow, "Would it be possible to contact the Systems Commonwealth, and ask them for help?"  
  
TBC 


	12. Missing

Eye of the storm, part 12  
  
Dylan lay in the infirmary bed, just staring at the ceiling: for the second time in his life, he had lost everything. No, that was not true: when he was pulled from the singularity, he still had Andromeda, his ship and loyal friend. And now he truly had nothing left, nothing to cling to.  
  
Carter quietly walked through the door and sat on the chair by Dylan's bed, "Hi. Look, I can't even begin to understand what you must be feeling at the moment, but we are doing everything we can to find a way to send you home." Dylan barley even acknowledged she was there, so she changed tact, "Teal'c suggested we could contact the Commonwealth, maybe they can help you get home. The only thing is, we don't know where to look for them." Dylan seemed intent on ignoring her, so Cater gave up and went to leave.  
  
"Sinti is probably the best place to go for help." Dylan said, not even moving. Carter span round, "Where's that?" Dylan pulled himself up onto his elbows, "Sinti, it's in the Perseus Arm of the Milky Way. At this point in time it's the major population centre of a species called Perseids: they're known for their scientific knowledge, and have been Commonwealth members for over 2-thoursand years by this point in time."  
  
Carter was amazed, "If I showed you a star-chart, could you pick Sinti out for us. We can use the dialling computer to work out its coordinates, and then see if it's got a Stargate." Dylan nodded, "Ok, but can we do it tomorrow: I don't know what your doctor gave me, but I'm very tired." Carter smiled, "I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Dylan was woken the next day by an air force guard, "Sir, General Hammond needs to talk with you. If you would follow me please." Dylan nodded, and slowly managed to get his uniform on without falling over, still feeling the effects of the sedative Dr. Fraiser had given him the night before. The guard led Dylan along a corridor and into an elevator. Dylan was wondering why the Generals office would be at ground level, when he felt something press against the side of his neck, and the world wend dark.  
  
O'Neill walked into the infirmary, "Rise and Sine Dylan, time to go visit your friends the Perseids!" he stopped dead in his tracts when he saw Dylan's bed was empty and his clothes where gone. O'Neill back-tracked to Dr. Fraiser's office, "Um, Janet, where's Dylan? You know, tall guy, well built, doesn't speak a word of English, born 5000-years from now?" The doctor looked confused, "A guard came down for him about 45-muinets ago, said General Hammond wanted to see him. Why?" O'Neill was already off and running.  
  
General Hammond was sitting in his office, trying to do some paperwork when O'Neill burst in, "Dylan's missing." The General looked up, a resigned expression on his face, "Why am I not surprised? Do we know when he went missing?" O'Neill nodded, "Doc Fraiser says a guard came to the infirmary about 45-muinets ago and said you wanted to see him." Hammond shook his head, "Well I didn't send for him." The two men looked at each other, "NID!"  
  
Hammond went pick up the phone to seal the base when klaxons started going off all over the base, "Incoming Wormhole." The two men ran along the corridor to the control room in time to see the Iris close over the Stargate. Sgt. Davis sat at the controls, "Sir, we've not received a GDO, but a signal is coming through the Stargate, and seems to be scanning our computer records." Hammond looked worried, "What is it looking at right now?" Davis punched a few commands into his terminal, "It appears to be examining Captain Hunts medical file."  
  
More alarms started going off as the Iris slowly opened. Davis punched frantic commands into the computer, "The systems been overridden sir, I can't shut the Iris!" O'Neill grabbed the PA-mike, "All security personnel to the gate room, stat!" Special Forces guards ran into the gate room from both doors, aiming their weapons at the Wormhole, ready to fire  
  
O'Neill groaned as Rommie stepped through, "Oh, we're dead!" Hammond looked at him, "You know that woman?" O'Neill nodded, "That's no woman, that Rommie, the AI-Avatar of the Andromeda Ascendant, Dylan's ship. And she is going to be PISSED when she learns that we've lost her captain."  
  
Rommie ignored the guards around her and looked up to the control room, her eyes zeroing in on O'Neill, "Where's Dylan?"  
  
TBC 


	13. Very Angry Android

Eye of the storm, part 13  
  
Despite the large number of armed guards that surrounded Rommie, O'Neill was still terrified at what she would do when he told her what had happened. He swallowed hard, "Um, Dylan's kind of missing at the moment." Rommie stayed surprisingly calm, "How long has he been missing?" O'Neill shrugged nervously, "About 45-muinets or so." Rommie looked at him in a way that reminded him of his kindergarten teacher, "And you just let him walk off?" O'Neill slimed slightly, "Well, we think that someone may have taken him."  
  
Rommie felt a white-hot rage build up insider her, "Who, and where do I find them?" Hammond took a step forward, "My name is General Hammond, I am the commanding officer of this facility, and I sure you that we will do everything possible to find Captain Hunt as soon as we can." He jumped slightly as a bag was thrown through the Stargate from the other side. Rommie picked it up, "Well, you better tell me what happened." She said as the gate shut down.  
  
SG1 had assembled in the briefing room, sitting around the table with an increasingly angry Rommie, "So you're telling me that Dylan was most likely kidnapped by a rogue organisation within your own government, this National Intelligence Directorate?" Teal'c nodded, "That is what we believe has happened." Rommie looked at them one by one, "And where would I find this NID?"  
  
O'Neill fidgeted uneasily, "We do have a sort of contact: a former NID agent who occasionally helps us." Rommie seamed happy with this news, "And how do we contact this former agent?" O'Neill winced, "I have to leave a message for him, and if he wants to help us, he'll just turn up at some point, off-base." Rommie fixed him with a deadly glance, "Then leave your massage and let us leave." Hammond shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to leave this complex."  
  
Rommie looked at him, her face set like stone, "You really believe you can stop me if I decide to leave?" Hammond caught O'Neill's look, and sighed, "No, I doubt we could. But, I insist that a member of SG1 accompanies you every where you go, and I mean everywhere!" Rommie nodded and stood, "Very well, lets go."  
  
Daniel sat at the computer, "So what do we say?" O'Neill scratched his head, "Butch, we need to talk, urgent. Sundance." Daniel looked at him, "Another of your little word games?" O'Neill clipped him round the back of the head, "Just post the message, ok." Daniel chuckled as he typed, posting it on the message board that Maybourne was known to use.  
  
Rommie sat in an armchair, looking at Teal'c, "So you got the 'guard the android' duty tonight then?" The Jaffa nodded, "Indeed I have been selected to 'guard' you until 0200-hours, and then Major will relieve me." Rommie shrugged, "So, are we just going to sit here, or is there something we can do to pass the time?" Teal'c smiled slightly, "Have you ever heard of a movie called Star Wars? It is very good, I have seen it ten times."  
  
Carter made her way sleepily down from the guest room and was worried to hear the sound of gunfire coming from the living room. She quickly drew her Zat and burst through the door: Teal'c and Rommie where sat comfortably watch the TV. Carter blushed, "I'm sorry, I heard gunfire and over reacted." Teal'c smiled, "Please, feel free to join us: we are just watching the end of Return of the Jedi." Rommie looked up, "It's not as good as the other two, but it's ok." Carter lowered her Zat, "I'm going to make myself a coffee." She quickly made her exit.  
  
O'Neill came down a little after 6am and poked his head through the doorway, "I'm going to head into town, pick up a few things from the store. Maybe Maybourne will show up." Rommie stood, "Then I'm going with you." O'Neill shock his head, "Not a good idea: Maybourne's been sentenced to death, and is a bit tetchy about who he spends time with." Rommie looked at the Colonel, "And he'll think I'm a threat?" She suddenly looked all sweat and innocent, "After all, I'm harmless."  
  
Carter blinked, "How did you do that, change so suddenly?" Rommie smiled, "Hang around with Trance long enough and you learn to hide your true nature."  
  
TBC 


	14. Maybourne

Eye of the storm, part 14  
  
Rommie stood patiently by the car as O'Neill made his purchase from the store. She watched as a car pulled up at the side of the building, and the man at the wheel eyed her. Well she thought to herself, she did look like an attractive woman, so she couldn't really blame him.  
  
O'Neill walked from the store, a bag of groceries in one hand, "Ok, time to go home." The man in the other car leaned out of the window and laughed, "What's up Jack, I thought you preferred blonds?" O'Neill slowly turned round, "Maybourne, nice car." The former NID agent smiled, getting out the car and walking over to the Colonel, "I must say Jack, I approve. And I'm glad to see you're getting over your fixation with Major Carter." O'Neill raised a hand to stop Maybourne, "I'd be careful what you say around her if I where you: she's a lot more dangerous than she looks."  
  
Maybourne smiled, "So pray-tells what necessitates my summoning?" O'Neill looked at him, "Some of your former buddy's have kidnapped someone, and we need to get him back before the lady here gets angry." Maybourne gave Rommie the once over, "And what will she do if she gets angry?" Rommie rolled her eyes, and lifted the front of O'Neill's SUV off the ground with one hand.  
  
O'Neill smiled, "Let's just say she's from out of town. The man who was taken is called Dylan Hunt, and he represents a very advanced civilisation, one who would be very upset if they ever found out what has happened to him." Maybourne nodded, "How advanced?" Rommie looked at him, "With your current rate of technological advance? About 10,000-years." Maybourne's eyes went wide, "That's defiantly the sort of thing that would interest my former colleagues at the NID."  
  
O'Neill nodded, "Her people are on a par with the Asgard. Carter is working on a way to contact them, and if we don't have Captain Hunt back by then, we could be in for some serious trouble. And I mean worse than the Goa'uld." Maybourne nodded, "I think I get the idea. I'm staying at the motel, same room as last time. I'll see you and your friend there in 2- hours. I need to check a few things out."  
  
Rommie watched Maybourne get back into his car and drive off, "Can we trust him?" O'Neill shrugged, "Can you truly trust anyone? Maybourne may be a lot of things, but he's not stupid or crazy: the last thing he'd want to do is put earth in danger, at lest not while he's living here." Rommie tilted her head to the side slightly, "Maybe he's Nietzschean?" O'Neill thought for a moment, "possibly: he's got the self-preservation thing down to a tee."  
  
Denial had arrived by the time they got back to O'Neill's place. He seamed excited, "We think we've found a Stargate on Sinti. We're going to send a MALP through, but we don't know what to say." He held up a small digital recorder, "If you could record a message?" Rommie shrugged, then spoke in a message that none of the others understood. After about a minuet, she stoped, "That should be enough."  
  
O'Neill looked at her, "If you don't mind me asking, what did you just say?" Rommie looked at him blankly, "I mealy stated that I was a High Guard officer in need of assistance, and gave Earths coordinates. Hopefully a ship can be sent here to render any assistance we need." Carter looked up from a printout she was reading, "Could we ask the Commonwealth for membership?" Rommie shock her head, "That would alter the timeline, and there is no telling what that could lead to." Carter shrugged, "Well, it was a thought. Any idea what sort of ship will be sent?" Rommie thought for a second, "Probably a High Endurance Research Cruiser: it's the typical class of ship for scientific missions. But that said, this would be a first contact mission, so it could be a full battle group. It depends."  
  
TBC 


	15. The Prisoner

Eye of the storm, part 15  
  
"Battle group!" As in: lots of big powerful ships the size of your one?" O'Neill was beginning to get worried, "And their reaction to finding out Dylan is missing will be?" Rommie smiled, "Don't worry Colonel. High Guard ships of this time are not as powerful as I am: it would take them at lest ten minuets to render the Earth uninhabitable for the next million years or so."  
  
Dylan woke in a cell. "Well", He thought to himself, "It's not the first time." He looked around: it was a small room, about 3-meters square, with a metal door in one wall and no window. The only light came from an electric light in the ceiling. He had no idea how long had passed, or where he was. Who had taken him, and what did they want? Would they even be able to understand him?  
  
The cell door opened, and a man in a very expensive looking black suite stepped through, a Zat in his hand, "I'm glad to see you've finally come round Captain Hunt: we weren't sure how much tranquilliser to give you, so we kind of over did it." Dylan blinked, "Who are you, and why am I here?" The man smiled, "My name is not important, but you may call me Peter if you like; although, as you can probably guess, it's not my real name." He taped the side of his head, revelling one of the translators Harper had made for SG1, "Ingénues little thing this: I've been able to understand every language I've been exposed to the last two days."  
  
He sat down on a chair across the room from Dylan's bunk, "I work for an agency called the National Intelligence Directorate, and you've been brought here because we would very much like to acquire some of the technology described in SG1's report of their little trip to your ship." Dylan shook his head, "Can't: Earth isn't meant to be exposed to that sort of technology at this time. It's more advanced than anything in this galaxy." Peter shook his head, and fired the Zat at Dylan.  
  
Dylan felt like every nerve in his body was on fire, and screamed with the pain. Peter smiled, "One shot from this weapon is enough to stun or incapacitate, depending on the subject. Two will kill, and three vaporises. I don't want to have to kill you captain, but if you don't cooperate, I will."  
  
The cell door opened and a second man whisper something into Peter's ear. The NID agent smiled, "It appears that a member of your crew has made the trip back to try and find you: a young lady by the name of Rommie. I assure you, we will take her into custody. Maybe she will be more willing to cooperate." Despite the pain, Dylan couldn't help but laugh at Peter, "That's something I'd pay to see."  
  
Peter closed the door behind him as he left, and turned to the other NID agent, "Find this 'Rommie', and take her into custody: he reacted when I mentioned her name, and I'm pretty sure he has feelings for her, even if e won't admit them to himself. He will be more talkative if it's her life on the line."  
  
TBC 


	16. Police Action

Eye of the storm, part 16  
  
O'Neill drove his SUV along the quite road between his house and the town of Colorado Springs proper. He suddenly stopped the car and got out, walking a short way into the woods. In the back seat, Rommie turned to Carter, "Does he do that a lot?" Carter shock her head, "No, this has to be a first." They got out of the car and followed the Colonel.  
  
Rommie stopped when she recognised the clearing they had entered, "This where we landed, I mean, will land." O'Neill nodded, "Yep: 5,000-years from now, give or take a decade or two, I'll be back here." Carter shook her head, "Makes you think, doesn't it. We better get going: Maybourne's not going to wait for ever."  
  
When they got back to the SUV they where surprised to find a second car had pulled up, and two men in Colorado State Police uniforms stood by the side of the road, guns drawn but pointed at the road, "Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to be Colonel Jack O'Neill would you?" O'Neill nodded, "Yes. Can I help you officer?" the apparently senior of the two men stepped forward, "We are looking for a woman known only as 'Rommie', and we have been lead to believe you will know where she is."  
  
Rommie stepped forwards, "That's me. How can I help you?" the officer pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt, "I have a warrant for your arrest. Please come with us." Carter raised a hand in objection, "Excuse me, but what's the charge?" the officer shrugged, "I don't know lady, I'm just following orders." O'Neill looked at his second in command, "Look's like NID's hared about Rommie's little trip." He turned back to the two cops, "I assure you officer, no crimes have been committed: she has been under constant observation by Air force personnel, and as the representative of a foreign power, she has diplomatic immunity."  
  
The two State Troopers looked at each other, and one of them talked quietly into his radio. There was a hiss of static as the reply came through, and the Trooper shook his head. The senior officer turned back to O'Neill, "I'm sorry sir, but these orders come down from the FBI: we have to take her in." Rommie smiled, her arms folded, "Try." O'Neill and Carter each took a few steps back and to the side, trying to put as much room between themselves and the impending trouble as possible. The younger of the two cops took as step forward, his nightstick held at the ready.  
  
Reacting faster than any human ever could, Rommie grabbed the officer by the arm, and pulling him forwards, kicked-out at the second, knocking him through the air and into the door of the police-cruiser. She then pulled the first one backwards, snapping the nightstick with one hand while tripping him over her out-stretched knee.  
  
The 'fight' lasted all of three seconds, and by the end, both State Troopers where unconscious. She took their handcuffs and secured them to the doorframe of the cruiser, then threw their radios into the trees. The ripped the main radio from the car and then pulled the entire steering coulomb free, throwing them after the other radios.  
  
She turned to look at Carter and O'Neill, "Can we go now?"  
  
TBC 


	17. Playing possum

Eye of the storm, part 17  
  
O'Neill knocked on the motel room door, and didn't even flinch when it opened to reveal a 9mm semi-automatic held steady in Maybourne's hand. He smiled, "Getting a little paranoid are we Harry?" Maybourne grabbed O'Neill and pulled him through the door, then signalled Carter and Rommie to follow. The gun moved from one of them to the other, "I suppose you think it was funny, telling me she was from 'out of town', like she was just another visitor from off-world?" Maybourne looked angry.  
  
Carter looked worried, "How much do you know?" Maybourne's gun shifted to face her, his face a mask of panic, "I know that she's from 5,000-years into the future, and that NID has placed her capture at the top of their 'To Do' list, even above my, shale we say, 'retirement'. Every NID agent in the county is heady for this town with the sloe intent of capturing her, alive I might add." He stood just inches from O'Neill face, "They've be authorised to Terminate With Extreme Prejudice anyone who gets in the way, and that means you and the rest of your little boy-scout troop." O'Neill smiled, "Ok, not the first time NID's wanted me dead, and probably not the last time ether: I'll deal with it."  
  
The sound of police sirens could be heard from the street. Carter looked out the window and her face went white, "Ere, Colonel, the state police are here." O'Neill shrugged, "How many of them?" Carter looked at him, "All of them?" Rommie looked out at the car park, "There are over 100 armed police officers out in my field of few at the moment, but none of them are carrying weapons that can harm me in any conceivable way." She turned round, "You three on the other hand, have something to worry about."  
  
A voice, amplified by a megaphone, carried thought the window and into the room, "This is the Colorado State Police: come out with your hands up." Rommie seemed deep in thought, "I can get us all out of here alive and well, but I can't guaranty that none of them will be hurt in the process." Carter shock her head, "That could alter the time line in unimaginable ways." Rommie looked at her, "This is not the first time I've been in this sort of situation, so I know all about temporal stability." She took a computer-pad from her pocket and handed it to O'Neill, "This will let you track me where ever I go. I'll surrender, and when they've taken me to where Dylan is, I'll bust out, and you can pick us up. Don't touch the stuff in my bag, but bring it with you."  
  
O'Neill looked unsure, "Is that a good idea?" Rommie shrugged, "Probably not, but it will result in less of a scene and let us know where Dylan is. Anyway, they still think I'm human." Without another word, she stepped outside, her hands raised. Maybourne watched from the door as the police took Rommie into custody. He turned to O'Neill, "What did she mean by that 'they still think I'm human' line?" O'Neill smiled, "She's an android, or to be more precise, an AI-Avatar: her other-self is one honking-huge spaceship that could turn this planet into a smoking cinder in two- minuets." Maybourne watched as Rommie was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car, a smile on her lips, "I kind of feel sorry for any NID agents who try and stop her."  
  
Two NID agents where waiting at the Colorado Springs sheriffs office under the guise of FBI agents, and took Rommie to a nearby airfield, and bundled her into the back of a Gulf stream-V business jet. One of the agents pressed a needle to her neck, and Rommie pretended to fall unconscious as the plane speed along the runway and took to the air.  
  
TBC 


	18. Jailbreak

Eye of the storm, part 18  
  
O'Neill sat at the controls of the Air Force transport that General Hammond had arranged for the use of SG1. Carter sat in the co-pilots seat; the tracker Rommie had given them in her hands, its steady bleeping keeping them on the right path. Daniel poked his head through the door, "Where are we going?" O'Neill looked at the navigation system, "Montana by the looks like." The Egyptologist smiled, "Give us a shout when we pass over Wyoming will you: Teal'c and I are going to throw Maybourne out the back." O'Neill grinned, "Sure thing."  
  
The NID Gulf Stream carrying Rommie landed at a seemingly abandoned USAF base somewhere deep in Montana, and the android allowed her captures to carrier her 'unconscious' body from the plane and into a waiting van. She accessed the primitive GPS system set up by the US military to triangulate her position, and then determined SG1's ETA: just over 3-hours. As she didn't know if she was being taken directly to the same place as Dylan, she decided to keep up the 'helpless human' ruse.  
  
Dylan was asleep when the cell door opened and Peter walked in, followed by two guards who carried Rommie between them. For a second he was worried that they had managed to hurt her in some way, but then his sub-dermal communicator crackled into life, "Dylan, just shut up an listen for a moment: SG1 is on the way, but they aren't due for another 2 and a half hours. If you want to brake-out now, just give the word, or we'll wait for them to get here." Dylan smiled, "Now will do."  
  
Before any of the NID agents could react, Rommie brought her two arms together, smashing the men holding her into each other, knocking them senseless. Her left foot shot up, pinning Peter to the wall by his neck. Dylan smiled as he picked up the Zat's dropped by the unconscious guards, and then took Peters from his belt, "Yes, this is one of my crew, but she's also my ship's AI-Avatar. Rommie, say hello to the nice man who was torturing me." Rommie's eyes narrowed and she increased the pressure on the NID agent's neck until his body went limp.  
  
Dylan looked down at him, "Is he?" Rommie shock her head, "No, he's just out-cold: we can't risk killing anyone because it may upset the time-line. But then, if this is another of those pre-determined time-loop, we can kill whom we want and it won't change a thing." Dylan shrugged, "Let's just play in by ear for now." Rommie handed Dylan her jacket, "You better take this: it's got a lining of Teflon coated woven glass. It'll stop most weapons of this era, and it's your size." Dylan lifted the garment, "I thought it looked a bit big on you. Let's go."  
  
The NID guards where quite surprised when shots that would kill or incapacitate a human seemed to bounce off Rommie as she made her way along the corridors, a Zat in each hand, never missing a shot and effortlessly kicking down security doors that where rated to stop any known hand weapon.  
  
Dylan moved up next to her, "How long until the cavalry arrives?" Rommie posed to shoot-out a security camera, "If their airspeed remains constant, about 10-muinets. Add another 15-muinets to land and taxi, and our time to get there, and it's looking like 25-minutes, give or take 30-seconds." A stun-grenade interrupted them before they could ay anything else, and Rommie pushed Dylan through a door that lead to a staircase. With no other means of escape open to them, they started to clime, Dylan's Zat held out in front.  
  
The stairway led up into the former control tower, now abandoned. A second stun-grenade blocked off the way back down with a billowing cloud of teargas. Rommie picked up a chair from before one of the radar sets and threw it through the plate-glass window, smashing it into thousands of tiny fragments. She looked at Dylan, who nodded, taking her hand as they ran and jumped out of the window, and into the air beyond, ten floors up.  
  
The anti-gravity harness built into Rommie's belt strained under their combined wait, but it was able to compensate for them as they gently reached the ground. A pair of NID agents on the runway where so amazed that they didn't even draw their weapons, and soon fell to Rommie's hyper- accurate fire.  
  
With an ear-shattering roar, O'Neill brought the Air Force transport in to land, and quickly saw the fire fight that was developing at the far end of the runway. He clicked on the intercom, "Ok, look's like Rommie's busted Dylan out, but NID has them pinned at the far end of the runway, so this is what we're going to do: I'll bring us in low and fast, and when we reach the other end of the run way, I'll spin us round. Carter, you and Teal'c get to the back door opened and get ready to drag them in. Daniel, get the first-aid kit out and opened. Maybourne, stay out of their way."  
  
The jet reached the end of the runway and O'Neill span it round as Carter let the rear entry ramp fall down. Teal'c aimed his staff-weapon at a stack of oil drums, detonating them with one well-aimed shot. Rommie pushed Dylan towards the waiting plan, trying the shield him from the fire still coming from the NID agents.  
  
Rommie suddenly stopped in her tracks and keeled over.  
  
TBC 


	19. Intermediary

Eye of the storm, part 19  
  
Without even thinking about it, Dylan turned and managed to catch Rommie before she hit the ground, and dragged her up the steps into the airplane. Teal'c directed his staff-weapon at the control tower and fired off a series of energy-bolts, destroying the upper floors.  
  
Dylan lay Rommie down on a seat in the back of he jet as O'Neill sent it hurtling along the runway and up into the air. Carter managed to pull her way across the plane as it rose steeply into the sky, "What happened?" Dylan looked worried, his eyes wide with fear, "I don't know: she just fell. I didn't think anything from this time could hurt her in any way."  
  
Rommie suddenly sat up, and rubbed her back; "Ouch!" he hand came away, a flattened built sitting in its centre, "50-calibour snipers-rifle round. Very nasty." She saw the look of shock and concern on Dylan and Carter's faces and smiled, "I'm ok: it damaged on of my control cables, and I had to run a quick by-pass. I'll be fine." Dylan put his arms round her and hugged her tight, "Don't do that to me again!"  
  
Carter saw the way Rommie and Dylan where looking at each other, and remember the conversation she had had with Harper back on the Andromeda. It was true: Rommie really did love Dylan, and he loved her, but didn't know how to deal with it. She smiled slightly to herself: well, he wasn't the only one.  
  
Maybourne climbed into the co-pilots seat as the jet levelled-off, "Well Jack, you now have the entire force of the NID after you: What you going to do?" O'Neill shrugged, "I haven't a clue: I'm leaving that up to General Hammond." Maybourne shock his head, "Well, if its all the same, I'd like for you to drop me off before we get back to Colorado Springs: I'd rather not place my trust in his ability to stop NID when they want something as badly as they're going to want those two back there."  
  
O'Neill landed at a small airstrip in Wyoming, dropping Maybourne off before returning to the airbase near Cheyenne mountain. Dr Fraiser was waiting for them, along with a number of SF-guards. She gave Dylan a quick once over as they drove back to the SGC, "Well Captain, you don't appear to be any worse for ware after you little stay with NID: A little sleep and you should be ok." Dylan nodded, thankful that Rommie had brought a box of translators back with her. The SGC was at a high sate of alert when they got back, and the guard at the main gate told them that General Hammond wanted to see them in the briefing room immediately.  
  
They made their down and where all surprised to see Thor sitting at the briefing table with General Hammond. O'Neill's face fell, "What do you want this time?" Thor looked up at him, "Do not worry Jack O'Neill, I do not 'want' anything: I have been asked to come here to act as an intermediary between Earth and the Systems Commonwealth." O'Neill's face lit up, "Rommie's message got through?" Thor nodded, "Indeed it did, and at a very advantages time: my people have been trying to forge an alliance with the Commonwealth for some time now, but we have never found any common ground to base it on."  
  
Rommie nodded, "This is roughly the right time for the treaty of Sinti to be signed." Thor tilted his head to the side, "You must be Rommie. General Hammond has told me much about you and Captain Hunt. There are many questions I would like to ask you, but in doing so I would put the timeline in danger: the last thing we want is a temporal paradox." Rommie nodded thoughtfully, "That would be a bad thing. There are many things that we would like to change about our past, but that would stop it from happening, and we wouldn't be here to change it." O'Neill just let the techno babble wash over him.  
  
Thor stood, "If you would accompany me back to my ship, we can get started on finding you a way home."  
  
TBC 


	20. Back to normal

Here it is, the final chapter:  
  
Eye of the storm, part 20  
  
There was a bright flash, and they suddenly found themselves aboard Thor's ship. Earth hung majestically outside a window, and O'Neill's eyes went wide when he saw that they where not alone: over 2-dozen ships of various designs where visible from that one window alone. Although he didn't recognise them, their lines looked somehow familiar. Rommie appeared at his side, a huge grin on her face, "Now THAT is a High Guard battle group!" Teal'c surveyed the ships in view and nodded his head, "A most impressive display of force. How many such fleets dose the High Guard field at this time?"  
  
"We have over 500 battle groups at our disposal at this time, with several thousand other ships unassigned on any permanent basis." The voice came from behind them, and they turned round. Dylan and Rommie automatically dropped to one knee when they saw who it was. O'Neill remember what Dylan had told him about beings that resembled light-blue centaurs, quickly came to attention, startling the rest of SG1 in to doing the same.  
  
Thor held out one arm, "My I introduce Uxulta, first Systems Commonwealth ambassador to the Asgard. Ambassador, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c of the Stargate Command, and Captain Dylan Hunt and the AI-Avatar of the Starship Andromeda Ascendant, of the High Guard: they are the two time-travellers I told you about." Uxulta nodded, a smile on her lips, "It is indeed a grate honour to meet you all: Commander Thor has told me much of your dealings with the Goa'uld, and I must say that I believe you will make valuable Commonwealth citizens one day, especially if Captain Hunt is anything to go by."  
  
O'Neill raised his hand, "Um, not wanting to be rude or anything, but would it be possible to join now? It's just, you have a reputation for kicking Goa'uld-butt that surpasses our own, and as we're going to be member one day, couldn't it be sooner rather than later?" Uxulta looked at Thor and smiled, "You where right: he is impetuous, but brave with it. And Captain Hunt, Andromeda, please stand." The two High Guard officers slowly got to their feet, but kept their heads bowed.  
  
Uxulta looked at O'Neill, "I am afraid that if you joined the Commonwealth now it would upset the timeline as told to us by Captain Hunt and Andromeda. But, we have signed the Protected Planets treaty: Earth is now under the joint protection of the Asgard and the Commonwealth." O'Neill seemed happy with that, "Well, I had to ask you know."  
  
Thor handed Carter a strange looking box, "Attach this to you dialling computer and it should allow Captain Hunt and Andromeda to return to their time. We will be taking it back afterwards." Carter nodded, lifting the surprisingly light box, "um, thanks." There was a second bright flash and they where back in the SGC.  
  
Dylan looked at the shimmering vortex of the Stargate and turned to Rommie, "And you're sure that we're heading back to the right time?" She smiled, "For the 5th time: yes. From their point of view, tow days have passed since I travelled back. We tried getting it closer, but it proved impossible." Dylan nodded, lifter the bag of 'shopping' that they had been asked to pick up by the rest of the crew: CD's for Beka, some books on the X-1 for Harper, seeds for Trance, a Zat for Tyr and a few bits and pieces of religious nature for Rev Bem. They also had a few things that they had picked up for themselves, and some stuff given to them by the members of SG1. Dylan took a deep breath and stepped thought the Stargate, followed closely by Rommie.  
  
SG1 watched them go from the gate-control room. O'Neill let out a sigh, "You know, I think I'm going to miss them." Carter looked at him, "Really?" He nodded a smile on his face, "They did more to tick-off NID in four days then we could in four years." Daniel laughed, "True, but things should be calming down a little now." No sooner where the words out of his mouth then alarms started going off again. "Incoming wormhole: Tok'ra GDO. O'Neill shook his head, "You just had to say it didn't you."  
  
The End. 


End file.
